Freight-car door.



J. MAPBS.

FREIGHT GAR DOOR.

APPLICATION mD El 1914' Paten-1811 Mar. 16,1915.

J. MAPES.

FREIGHT CAR DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED 1313.111914.

Patented Man-16, 1915.

2 SHBETSASHEET 2.

A @mue/wko@ 7. fifa/bes 15. A Za? wit/Magnan THE MORRIS PETERS Cov4PHOTO-LI7HO., WASHINGTON, D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MAPES, OF ALEDO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ZALES S.IVICGINNIS, OF ALEDO, ILLINOIS.

FREIGHT-CAR DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

Application filed February 17, 1914. Serial No. 819,283.

kTo all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, J oHN MAPES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Aledo, in the county of Mercer and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Freight-Car Doors, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in cardoors of the type which are designed particularly for use in connectionwith freight cars.

As its principal object, this invention aims to provide a door which maybe readily attached to any standard form of freight car with a minimumexpenditure of time and labor.

A further object is to construct the door in such manner that it may beeasily and conveniently moved longitudinally over the outer face of theside of a freight car.

l/Vithin the knowledge of the inventor, there have been patented anumber of freight car doors which may be moved longitudinally along theside of the car, but almost without exception these doors are open toone very important objectiomwhich is that they too frequently stick orbind against the side of the car when the operator endeavors to movethem into open or closed position.

A further object of this invention is, therefore, to provide a car doorso constructed that all liability of binding engagement and sticking ofthe door against the car side will be eliminated.

A still further object is to mount the door in a frame which is slidablelongitudinally of the car on tracks of the well known type, hinging thedoor at its lower terminal so that its upper terminal may be swungoutwardly, thus spacing the major portion of the inner face of the doorfrom the side of the car, whereby contact of the door and car iseliminated and liability of sticking is overcome during the movement ofthe door into open or closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lever controlledmechanism for swinging the door inwardly or outwardly on its hinges, sothat, when in closed position, the door may be tightly sealed againstthe side of the car to prevent the leakage of grain, in case such acargo is being transported.

An object of equal importance with the foregoing is to construct thedoor operating mechanism in such manner that it may be locked to holdthe door in open or closed position.

Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, described in the following specification, and then moreparticularly pointed out in the claims, which are appended hereto andform a part of this application.

With reference to the drawings, wherein there has been illustrated thepreferred embodiment of this invention as it is reduced to practice. andthroughout the several views of which similar reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation illustratingthe door in open position on a freight car; Fig. 2 is a side elevationillustrating the door in closed position; Fig. 3 is a section on theline 3-3 of Fig. 1: Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2; andFig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the door operating elements indisassembled position. but indicating the relation which the variouselements bear to one another when in operative position.

Proceeding now to the description of the drawings, and referringparticularly to Figs. 1 and 2 in which the invention is best illustratedin assembled position. the numeral 10 designates as an entirety aslidable frame in which the door, indicated by the numeral 11. ishingedly mounted. The frame l0 is in the preferred embodiment of theinvention substantially rectangular in shape, being constructed ofrelatively light bar iron or steel. The side members 12 and 13 of theframe are bifurcated at their upper terminals, the outer arms 14produced by such bifurcation being bent inwardly, as at 15, and thencedownwardly, as at 16, while the other arm produced by the bifurcationiscut ofi', leaving merely a lug member 17. Between the portion 16 ofthe member 14 and the main body portion of the said arm is journaled ona transversely eX- tendingpin 18 a supporting wheel 19.

` It will be obvious upon reference to the drawings that a supportingwheel l19 is provided for'the upper terminal of each of retainingfingers ating the side bars 12 and 13. These wheels 19 are mounted formovement along a bar track 20 which is mounted to extend longitudinallyalong the side of the car adjacent the upper portion thereof. The trackbar 20 is equipped with a downwardly extending rib 21 which ispositioned at the forward edge of the track. The lug members 17iof theframe arms 12 and 13 are adapted to engage against the rear face of theribv 21 for holding the wheels 19 against displacement from the track. Alongitudinally extending angle iron 22 is secured by bolts or othersuitable fastening devices, indicated at 23, to the lower portion of theside of the car. This member 22 is adapted to receive the lowertransverse frame member 24 and to hold the frame against outwardlyswinging movement, as is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4 particularly.The upper terminals of the frame side members 12 and 13 are braced sothat they will be maintained in parallel spaced relation by means of atransversely extending bar or iron rod, indicated at 25. This member v25is terminally secured by the pivot pins 18.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that there has beenprovided a relatively light docr frame which is so constructed that itis possessed of all necessary strength for supporting the door 11. Y

The door member 11 is, in the preferred embodiment of the invention,constructed of wood, and is, as shown, substantially rectangular inshape to conform to the outline of the frame member 10. The door 11 isattached at its lower terminal to the lower transverse vmember 24 of theframe 10 by meanslof hinges 26 and 27. Intermediate the length of theframe members 12 and 1,3 are positioned a pair of outwardly offset orlugs, indicated at 28 and 28. These members 28 and 28 extend a slightdistance beyond the edges of the door and serve as stops for limitingthe outward swinging movement of the door.

As previously explained, one of the principal objects of the presentinvention is to provide an operating means which not only vserves tohold the door in open or closed position, but is so constructed that itmay be operated 4to swing the upper terminal of the door outwardly sothat the inner face o1 the door may be spaced from the side of the carto guard against the possibility of frictional engagement between theside4 face of the carv and the door when this latter member is beingmoved into open or closed position. VThe preferred form of meansernployed in this connection consists in an operlever 29' which ispivoted on the Iouter face of the door and is connected tothe side framemembers 12 and 13 of the frarnel't) in such mannerlthat, when swung inoner'direction, it will act to `swing the door-:out-

39 and 40 wardly on its hinges, and will, when swung in the oppositedirection, move the door inwardly on its hinges. The lever 29 ispreferably constructed froma elongated metallic bar which is pivoted tothe upper portion of the door by a pivot pin 30. At each side ofthedoor, and adjacent the upper terminal thereof, are arranged segmentalgear members 31 and 32 which are respectively keyed on crank shafts 33and 34. The crank shaft 34 is journaled in a pair of brackets 35 and 36at the right hand side of the door,A while the crank shaft 33 isjournaled in brackets 37 and 38 secured adjacent the left hand side ofthe door, as clearly indicated in Figs.

1 and 2. 'The sector gears 31 and "32 are f adapted to respectively meshwith rack bars which may be either formed integrally with or .in anywell known manner secured to the inner face of the side frame members 12and 13 adjacent the upper ter'.- minals thereof. Link members 41 andv 42are employed in pivotally and freely con- 1 necting the lever 29 withthe cranks 43 and 44 of thecrank shafts, heretofore designated by thenumerals 33 and 34. The inner'terminals of these link members are, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2, pivoted in the bifurcated arms of attachingmembers 45 and 46 which are detachably secured to the lever 29 at pointsequidistantly spaced above and below the pivot pin 30. The members 45and 46 are, of course, mounted for swinging movement on the lever, beingfreely connected thereto by means of bolts or similar fastening devices,indicated at 47 and 48.

From the foregoing description, and upon reference to the drawings, itwill now be seen that by swinging the lever 29 tothe right hand sideofthe door, the sector gears 31 and 32 will, by engagement with the rackbars 39 and 40 operate to swing the upper terminal of the door 11inwardly. T herack bars and sector gears are so arranged that, when thelever 29 has been moved into complete closed position at the right handside ofy he door, as in Fig. 2,.the door will engage the side wall ofthe car throughout its entire length, and will be freely sealedthereagainst effecting a closure which will absolutely pre.- vent theleakage ofY grain or any other material through the car door.

When the operator` desires' to open the door, it is necessary beforesliding the frame 10 along the track 2O to swingthe lever 29 to the leftlhand side of the car. When the Y.

lever'is thus swung, the sectorgears by travcling along the rackbars`act to swing the uy per end of the door outwardly, as in Fig. 3, sothat lapproximately Vthe yentire inner Y face of the door is spaced fromth'e sideof ing engagement of the door against the side of the car, asin ordinary freight car doors.

1n assembling the elements of the door, the sector gears are so keyed onthe crank shafts 33 and 34 that the crank portions 43 and 44 theretoextend toward the center of the door at an angle of 45O thereof when thedoor is in closed position, as in Fig. 2, and outwardly away from thecenter of the door and at an approximate angle of 45O thereto when thedoor is in open position as in Fig. l. This arrangement of the crankmembers 33 and 34 is, of course, necessary so that the pull exerted uponthe cranks by the links 41 and 42 will, at all times, be angularlydirected, and never in a straight line, for if such were the case itmight be impossible to actuate the sector gears.

As a means for locking the lever 29 in position at either the right orleft hand side of the door, there has been provided a pair of staplemembers 49 and 50, which are adapted to receive a hasp 51 pivotallycarried at the lower terminal of the lever. lt will, of course, be seenupon reference to Figs. l and Q that a padlock may be applied to thestaple for preventing any unauthorized person from opening the door.

In reduction to practice, it has been found that the form of thisinvention illustrated in the drawings, and referred to in the abovedescription as the preferred embodiment, is the most efcient andpractical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with theadoption of this device will necessarily vary, it is desirable toemphasize the fact that various minor changes in details ofconstruction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to,when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of thisinvention, as defined in the appended claims.

1n the preferred embodiment of the invention, the door 1l is constructedof wood, inasmuch as this material has been found to be relatively lightand as durable as is necessary, although, if so desired, any othermaterial, such as sheet iron, steel or the like may be employed withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

lVhat is claimed is l. A device of the character described including aframe slidable longitudinally over" the frame for swinging the upperterminal of the door toward or away from the car side, said door carriedmeans being further adapted for locking the door spaced from the carside or in sealing engagement therewith.

3. A device of the character described including a frame having wheelsat its upper terminal, a track receiving the wheels, whereby the framemay be moved longitudinally over the side of the car, a door mounted inthe frame and having its lower terminal hinged to the lower transversemember thereof, and exteriorly operable means for swinging the upperterminal of the door into sealing engagement with the side of the car,or for swinging the upper terminal of the door away from the side of thecar, said means including a crank shaft mounted on the door, a segmentalgear keyed on the crank shaft, a rack bar formed on the inner side ofone of the side members of the frame, said segmental gear and rack barbeing arranged to mesh, and a lever pivoted on the door and freelyconnected to the crank shaft, said lever being movable in one directionfor swinging the upper terminal of the door toward the car side and intoengagement therewith, and movable in the opposite direction for swingingthe upper terminal of the door away from the side of the car and inspaced relation thereto.

4. A device of the character described including a frame slidablelongitudinally against the side of the car. a door having its lowerterminal hinged to the lower transverse member of the frame, and meansfor swinging the door inwardly toward the side of the car or swinging itoutwardly therefrom. said means including a lever pivotally mounted onthe outer face of the door, rack bars formed on the inner sides of theside members of the frame, brackets carried by the outer face of thedoor, crank shafts journaled therein, segmental gears keyed on the crankshafts and meshing with the rack bars, and link members pivotallvconnecting the crank shafts to the lever, whereby the movement of thelever in one direction will swing the upper terminal of the doorinwardly for engaging the inner face of the door against the side of thecar. and whereby the movement of the lever in the opposite directionwill swing the upper terminal of the door outwardly for swinging theinner face of the door away from the side of the car.

5. A device of the character described including a. frame slidable overa car side. a door having its lower terminal hinged to the lowertransverse member of the frame. rack bars carried by the frame, pinionsmounted on the door, and a lever operatively connected to the pinions,said lever being movable in one direction for swinging the free end ofthe door toward the car and being `movable in the other direction forswinging the free end of the door away from the car.

6. A device of the character described including a frame mounted forsliding movementy longitudinally of a car side, a door having its lowerterminal hinged to the lower transverse member thereof, rack barscarried by the frame, pinions mounted on the door, 'crank arms connectedto the pinions, a lever mounted on the door, and linksV freelyconnecting the lever at points above vand below its pivotal point to thecrank arms vwhereby'the lever when swung in one direction will move thefree end of the door toward the car and when moved in the otherdirection will move the free end of the door in presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN MAPES. [11. SJ

Witnesses:

LORENZO B. MOREY,

FRANK L. GREEN.

-Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each. by addressingthe Commissioner of Patent Washington, D. C.

